Criminal Minds Confidential: The Lost Files
by falcon-121
Summary: JJ and Hotch go on what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation, but will they survive when disaster strikes? Meanwhile, the rest of the team works on a grisly case in San Jose.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is sort of a sequel of my spoof (The Story of Bizarro Rossi), because the beginning is a continuation of it. However, this is not a spoof. My aim here was to have something more like a typical episode of Criminal Minds, where it is mainly serious, but there is little doses of comical relief here and there. The first 12 or so chapters are going to be very long, because I've already written quite a bit on the CM Message Boards. I do not own Criminal Minds, I just borrow their characters. I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. Thanks to my friends at the CM Message Boards for already supporting this story, I really appreciate it. Feel free to read and review. And without further ado, the beginning of Lost Files:**

It had been a week since Hotch's team had arrived home after finishing up a tough case in Boston, and things between JJ and Hotch had not improved. If anything, Hotch felt that they had gotten worse. The first two days back, JJ simply refused to talk to her boss. He decided to swallow his pride and apologize, though he didn't see a reason to, but JJ wouldn't accept it. She admitted that he was sincere, but she also knew that it didn't solve the problem. She knew that he was at least making the effort now, though, so she started talking to him again. Hotch, however, was not satisfied, because if it wasn't related to the job, then she wouldn't talk to him. Hotch started looking for another solution. Rossi's words rang in his mind. _"And if that isn't enough, do something to make it up to her."_ Of course! All she wanted was a break; why not invite her to have a few days off? Hotch ran off to talk to his teammates about what JJ was interested in when it came to vacation. And that is where this tale starts...

When Hotch thought about it, he really didn't know much about his friend and employee. He knew and trusted her as an agent, but he had very little idea of her other interests. And as he asked the team, he realized that they didn't know much, either. So much for profiling. The first person he approached was Garcia, who had been JJ's best friend ever since they met in the FBI.

"Hi tall, dark, and handsome," Garcia greeted him as he entered her cubby. He had become accustomed to this kind of banter with her, as had the rest of the team.

"Garcia, let's say that JJ was planning a vacation? Do you have any idea what she'd be interested in?"

"Aw, poor girl wouldn't know what to do on vacation. She _never _takes one." Garcia didn't mean anything by that last part, but it still made Hotch feel a little guilty.

"I know, but if she was? Does she have any hobbies or interests that you are aware of?"

"Nope. Lo siento, señor, I've got nothing."

"You speak Spanish?"

"A wee little bit," Garcia said, pinching her fingers to show how little.

Hotch suppressed a sigh. "Thanks, Garcia." He left the colorful cubby and moved onto Morgan. Same answer. Reid and Rossi were also of no help. Prentiss had arrived late, just a few seconds after Hotch finished asking Rossi, and he immediately pounced on his last chance.

"Prentiss," Hotch called out to her.

"Yeah, Hotch," she replied, "No need to yell, I'm not going anywhere."

"If you were going to invite JJ to go on vacation with you, and you were looking for something she was interested in, what would you do," he asked.

"Easy, I'd take her snowboarding."

"Snowboarding?"

"Ohhh yeah, she has fun with that. She used to do it a lot in Pennsylvania, and still does sometimes when she gets a few days off."

"Thank you!"

"Why do you want to know, anyway?"

"Let's just say I owe her."

"Fair enough."

So now Hotch had something to work with. If only he could get JJ on board with it...

-----

JJ sat in her office, nonchalantly flipping through a case file. Her tongue was busily moving around her cheek, signifying that she was in one of her thoughtful states. The Boston case had ended a week ago, but she hadn't managed to move on. She was still pissed that Rossi was getting all of this time off whenever he wanted it, and she didn't see any signs that that was going to improve. She couldn't decide what bothered her more, though, whether it was the Ross-Man or if it was the fact that Hotch had yelled at her. One thought had kept bouncing around in the back of the blonde's head. ___He's never yelled at me before._She sighed, then tried to focus on the case at hand. Five women, late twenties, found dead in Savannah, Georgia. She looked at the overwhelming amount of files on her desk, and knew that she wasn't in the state of mind to pick one right then. She was about to get up to pour herself an extra cup of coffee, when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she said, hoping she sounded more cheerful than she was.

Whoever it was tried the door, but couldn't open it. "It's locked," said the man behind the door. She could tell it was Hotch by his voice.

"No it isn't," she said, a hint of frustration in her voice, "You have to jiggle the handle."

Hotch did as told, and it opened.

"How long has it been like that," he asked.

JJ sighed. "Few months," she said with a shrug, "Don't know what's wrong with it, but it needs to be fixed."

Hotch wanted to ask why she didn't mention it, but he figured it was best just to let it go. "Can I talk to you for a minute," he asked gently.

JJ pointed to a chair on the other side of her desk. "I'm listening," she said. Her poker face was on, and Hotch couldn't read exactly what she was thinking.

"I was wondering... umm..." Hotch hesitated. The man who was usually so confident and unshakable was actually a little nervous.

JJ felt a little bad for him, but didn't let it show. "Spit it out, Hotch, I've got other things to do."

"I was thinking about heading to Colorado on a snowboarding trip, and I was wondering if you were interested," Hotch asked.

There was an excited glint in JJ's eye, but it only lasted a second. Hotch caught it anyway. "I don't know, Hotch," JJ began, "Can I have a little time to think about it?"

"Sure, I'm not in any hurry. Take your time and let me know, ok?"

JJ sighed. "Alright. Anything else?"

"No. Thanks for hearing me out."

"Not a problem." With that, Hotch left, making a mental note to have someone fix the poor girl's door, and JJ returned to the case files.


	2. Chapter 2

JJ still had not made a decision when she arrived home. She put her gun on the table next to the phone, and slumped down into her cushy chair. She closed her eyes, took a few slow breaths, then jumped a bit as the phone rang. It was Will's daily call; she just didn't realize what time it was. She picked it up.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," Will said in his slow, slurred accent. "How was your day?"

JJ sighed.

"Hotch again?"

"You know me too well."

"Not that hard to figure out, JJ, you've been griping about him for the last week."

"What, does it get on your nerves or something," she asked defensively.

"No, but I think it gets on your nerves. Well, what is it this time?"

JJ wished that she hadn't snapped at Will now, he didn't deserve that. She just seemed to be taking everything personally since the last case; being angry with Hotch had thrown her off her game. "Well... he invited me to go on a snowboarding trip to Colorado."

"Ok, sounds like fun."

"Yeah... I'm not sure if I want to go."

"Go," Will said encouragingly.

"What?"

"You heard me, go. Maybe if you two have that time together, you can start getting along again. Besides, you need to take a break from your job. You love snowboarding, so go out and have a little fun."

JJ hesitated. She didn't expect for Will to make up her mind, but she had to admit that it worked perfectly. "Ok, I'll go."

"Good. Hope you have a good time. And stop worrying so much Jay, everything is going to be fine."

"Thanks. By the way, sorry for snapping at you earlier."

"No problem. Love you, baby."

"Love you, too." She hung up. With that out of her head, she was able to climb into bed and get a good night's sleep.

-----

Hotch sat in the dark of his office, drumming his thumbs against his desk. It was 7 in the morning. JJ would arrive soon; the rest of the team usually showed up later. He didn't quite understand why he was so attached to his team. Sure, they worked together all the time and knew each other well, but why had they become his family? Why did he sacrifice his 'real' family for them? He had wondered this quite often, but never really found the answer. He had what he considered a special relationship with each member of his team, though his position forced him to come off as a little more detached than he wanted to be. And then there was JJ. Why was the agent that meant so much to him holding a grudge against him? She was usually so reasonable, what changed? Hotch had hand-picked JJ for the job. At the time, she appeared to just be one out of a hundred auditioning for the job, but she had developed wonderfully right before Hotch's eyes. She had become just as trustworthy as any profiler he had ever worked with, if not more. He took pride in the fact that the young agent that he chose years ago had panned out perfectly. And the bond they had was fantastic, too. _Was _being the key word. He tried to apologize to no avail. Now all he could do was hope that she accepted his invitation. As if on cue, there was a knock at his door.

"Come in," he said softly.

JJ did as told. "Hey."

"Please, sit," Hotch said, gesturing towards a chair.

JJ waved that off. "I'm just here to tell you that I accept your invitation. I'll go to Colorado with you."

Hotch nodded, a small smile forming on his face. "Good. I was planning on leaving on Friday."

"Fine by me."

"Alright, looking forward to it."

"I'm sure that we'll probably run into each other again later, so I'm just going to get out of your hair."

Hotch nodded as JJ made her exit. As soon as the door closed, he released a long sigh of relief. At least he was going to get a chance to get their friendship back on track.

-----

Derek Morgan walked into the bullpen on Thursday morning with a mega-watt smile on his face. He had spent last night with a pretty lady, and was feeling great the next day. They had hung out at a bar, drinking, talking, dancing, and generally just chilling. It felt good to get away from the office and have a little fun with someone that he'd probably never see again. He grinned at Prentiss, who smiled backed.

"Hey there, hotshot," she greeted him. "Looks like you had a good time last night. Was there a woman involved?"

"Oooh yeah," he replied. "You?"

Prentiss sighed. "If you consider having dinner with your mother as fun, then yes. Of course, I consider it a living hell, so no."

Morgan shrugged. "I invited you to come with me."

"And watch you make a fool of yourself on the dance floor," she said with a chuckle, "I'll pass."

"Ouch," he said, grabbing his chest as if Prentiss' words had stabbed through his heart.

"Oh, toughen up, cupcake," Prentiss said with a wink. "By the way, Hotch wants to speak with you, so you may want to seriously toughen up."

Morgan gave her a quizzical look. "Why does the master of disaster want to speak with me?"

She shrugged. "No clue. He's been acting a little strange lately."

"Alright, thanks for the heads-up," he said, flashing her another smile as he headed up the stairs to Hotch's office.

"No prob," she said with a grin, then returned to playing minesweeper on her laptop.


	3. Chapter 3

"Come in," Hotch said as he heard Morgan knock.

"Emily said you wanted to see me."

"Yes, please sit down."

"What's up?"

"I'm heading to Colorado tomorrow," Hotch said matter-of-factly. "I'm leaving you in charge of the team until Sunday morning, when I get back."

___Oh no, not again__, _Morgan thought. _Does he not remember last time I was in charge? _

"Um," Morgan said, "Why don't you leave Rossi in charge? He's the most experienced, wouldn't it make sense to let him lead?"

"You deserve a chance," Hotch said, "You've earned it. Besides, you did just fine last time I left you in charge."

Morgan almost scoffed at that, but he held it in. "Ok... do you have a game plan?"

"Well, JJ is also taking a little time off..."

_Why wasn't I invited to the party, _Morgan thought.

"... So she is leaving some case files for the team to look at. She was having some problems narrowing down, so she is going to leave ten. I want you to have each member of the team pick through those with a fine-tooth comb, and pick the one that you think is our best option. You can do that on Friday. Have the team go home early, catch up on sleep, relax, whatever you need to do. On Saturday, try to start up a profile on the case that you choose. Just brainstorm with the team, see if you can get a head start. Call the detective on the case, tell him we will arrive Sunday afternoon. Once again, go home early. Do whatever you want, but make sure your bags are packed. JJ and I will get back late Saturday night, and I'll be in the office early Sunday morning, as I said earlier. You guys can all brief us on the jet. Clear?"

"Yes sir," Morgan said, nodding. "Anything else?"

"Nope."

Morgan stood up, headed towards the door. Hotch piped up again when he touched the handle.

"And Morgan..."

Morgan turned. "Hm?"

"Thanks."

Morgan grinned. "No big deal, Hotch. I'll just watch over the fort while dad is away."

Hotch smiled, relieved to know that he was leaving his team in good hands.

-----

JJ and Hotch arrived in Denver Friday afternoon. They dropped off their things at the hotel and Hotch drove the rental car to the ski and snowboard shop. JJ rented a dark blue board with all of the gear necessary. Hotch rented black skis and all black gear. _He still wants it to look like his suit, doesn't he, _JJ thought. They hopped back into the rental car and headed to Idaho Springs. Idaho Springs was home to Echo Mountain, the closest ski/snowboard resort to Denver. They got on their gear and took a ride on the ski lift.

"I thought you said you were snowboarding," JJ asked.

"I did, but I'm more of a skier. When was the last time you've been on the slopes?"

"Year before I got the job with the BAU. You?"

"College. You may have to bear with me, I'm a little rusty."

JJ grinned. "I'm not going to wait on you."

Hotch chuckled. "Figured you wouldn't."

They had arrived at the peak. JJ clipped on her board, Hotch his skis and they took off. Hotch rocketed down the mountain at a high speed. _Damn, _JJ thought, ___He's pretty good__. _JJ flew over a hill, grabbing the bottom of her board before hitting the snow again. A little smile started to form on her face as she forgot about the job and loosened up. They stopped for a second about halfway down the mountain.

Hotch flashed JJ a grin. "You're good."

"Not so bad yourself," JJ said, catching her breath a bit.

_BANG!!! RUMBLE RUMBLE! _

Both of their heads jerked to the top of the mountain.

"What the hell was that," JJ asked.

Hotch's hawk eyes caught the snow moving. It was small from where they were standing, but he knew it wasn't good.

"Oh shit," he muttered.

"What," JJ asked, her eyes becoming wide.

Hotch looked straight into his friend's eyes, and said one word. "Avalanche."


	4. Chapter 4

Derek Morgan sat in a chair in the conference room; the same seat that was usually occupied by his boss. His fingers were interlaced comfortably behind his head as he leaned back, enjoying the time as Number One while waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. _I could get use to this, _he thought. Usually, he would arrive around the same time that Reid or Rossi did. But today was special, obviously, and he was savoring every minute as King. The stack of case files left by JJ was piled on the center of the table. Morgan grabbed one and sifted through it. Five vics in Kansas City, 20-25 year-old blonde women with stab wounds to the abdomen, three cuts for each vic. _Weird how she often picks cases with vics that are similar to her, _Morgan thought to himself. Well, at least he thought he had kept it to himself. Unfortunately he had said it out loud without realizing, and Emily Prentiss had just stepped into the room with her super-human hearing.

"Nice," she said, giving Morgan "the look."

"Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to say that."

"It's alright," Prentiss said, easing up. "I think we are so used to saying our observations about people, sometimes it is hard to hold back."

Morgan smiled and nodded at the beautiful brunette. "Want to get started?"

"Sure, why not," she asked, taking a seat and propping her feet up on the desk. "Which ones are mine?"

"Take two. I'll take two in addition to this one that I've already looked through, Rossi can take two, and Reid can handle three pretty easily."

"Sounds like a plan," Prentiss said, grabbing the two files closest to her.

A few minutes later, Rossi stepped into the conference room. Following the other two agents lead, he promptly took his seat, picked up two files and began profiling.

Morgan peeked out the window a couple minutes later when Reid hadn't come in yet. The kid was in the bullpen, looking around for his teammates. Morgan knocked on the window to get his attention. It worked, and Reid headed up the stairs. _Poor kid, _Morgan thought, rolling his eyes. _Sometimes he has no clue what is going on. _

"You get three," Morgan said as Reid entered.

This process went on for a while, each profiler looking at each file carefully and narrowing it down to the best that they had in their possession. That left them with four, and they could figure out which one to pick from there as a team. Morgan started by introducing his top pick.

"Green Bay, Wisconsin. There was a mass burial discovered a week ago. Five vics, all children who were around ages 8 to 10 around time of death. It appears that cause of death for each was strangulation. Green Bay's PD has been working hard on it, but they haven't caught a break yet." He took his seat and motioned for Rossi to present his choice.

Rossi stroked his goatee as he stood, as if to make sure that there wasn't a stray whisker standing up. He cleared his throat, then barked out details about his case in his usual, straight-forward fashion. "Atlanta. Four vics. Male, white, ages 35-40. Cause of death is gun shots to the head. Each body was found in a different abandoned factory within city limits." He took his seat, and Morgan nodded towards Prentiss. The brunette stood and presented her case crisply.

"Cincinnati. Seven vics, all middle-aged males of different ethnic backgrounds. Stab wounds to the chest with defensive wounds on the arms. Three of the bodies were found in the last week." That got an eyebrow raise from Morgan; bodies weren't often found that fast in succession.

"Might suggest the killer devolving, killing faster," Reid said matter-of-factly. Prentiss nodded her agreement.

"Alright," Morgan said, "Go ahead and present to the class, Reid. And remember, kid, these are highlights, not a five minute lecture."

Everyone chuckled a little, knowing Reid's tendency of getting on a tangent. Reid took a deep breath, then went for it.

"Eight vics in San Jose," the young genius said, "All between the ages of 6 and 12." Everyone's eyes got a little wide after that. They were pretty sure they had their case, but they let the kid continue.

"Signs of battery. Cause of death is blunt force trauma. The detectives on the case have no other leads. JJ even left a note that they sounded more desperate than most that come her way."

Morgan's mind was made up, and he was sure the rest of the team's was, too.

"Alright," Morgan said with a curt nod, all business now. "That's our case. We can't leave for San Jose until Sunday, but let's go ahead and get a jump on the victimology."

"On it," all three agents said in unison. Morgan took out his cell and dialed Jeff Walker, the detective in charge of the case.

-----

Hotch and JJ didn't waste another second. They flew down the slope at a break-neck speed. It was either outrun the avalanche, or something that they didn't want to think about. Hotch shot down the mountain like a dart, going even faster than he had earlier. He approached a jump, and it took all his focus to land it just right. Any mistake at this point could mean serious injury, or worse. Yet he wasn't worried about himself at all; all of his concern was focused on the safety of JJ. If he could push her ahead and make sure that she got away safely, he would. However, he understood that it was every man for himself as the snow rumbled down the mountain. He figured that if he could get down to the bottom that either she would, too, or he would be able to find her. So he continued at the same pace, hoping that JJ was keeping up.

She was. It had been a long time since JJ had been on a board and her skill had never been this crucial, but she was good. She rocketed down the slope about as fast as Hotch, just a few paces behind him. However, there was no chance for her to anticipate what happened next. There was a rock under the snow. Under normal circumstances, she would have seen it. With the high speeds, however, she ended up hitting it. She started to spiral out of control. She tried one final move in desperation, but it didn't work. The blonde flipped into mid-air, and landed on her back with a thud. She braced herself, knowing that the wave of ice would clobber her at any second. She made a quick prayer, threw her left arm up to the sky, and was buried in snow like a white blanket.


	5. Chapter 5

Hotch made it to the bottom as the snow slowed, and looked back. He prayed that the blonde would be right behind him, but she wasn't. _No, no, no, _he thought, looking frantically for his friends. He unclipped his skis quickly, and started his way up the mountain.

"JJ," Hotch shouted at the top of his lungs. No answer. "JJ," he yelled, even louder this time. Still nothing.

.

Hotch was starting to panic. His agents meant everything to him, and images of JJ freezing under a layer of snow kept flashing before his eyes. _Stay calm, _he thought. _Panicking isn't going to bring her back safely. Come on, Aaron, focus! _

"JJ," he shouted again. He realized that that was a useless waste of energy. If she was covered, there was no way for her to yell back. He scanned the area around him. He was a little bit up the hill, but not much, so the snow wasn't as thick as it was in some other areas. He looked up a little farther, and caught a glimpse of color. He rushed to it, but slipped as he tried to run on the snow. He caught himself and continued to fight his way toward the color. As he got closer, he recognized the purple tip of JJ's glove. _I'm comin' JJ, just hang on, _he thought. He kneeled down and hectically shoveled snow away from her with his gloves. He worked quickly, desperately fighting off fatigue as he tried to rescue the young agent that meant so much to him. He had already lost Elle, Gideon, his wife, and his son. There was no way in hell that he was losing JJ, too. He dug faster. He had uncovered JJ's left arm, and moved on to the rest of her. He had no clue if she was still alive, though he knew for a fact that she was at least unconscious. Soon he had enough of her uncovered to drag her out from the snow.

"Thank God," he said aloud as he saw that JJ was still breathing. She groaned.

"Hang in there," he said as he picked her up and started working his way back down the slope. "I've got you, JJ, just hang in there."

-----

Luckily for Hotch, he knew Echo Mountain pretty well. He recalled coming to it for vacations back when he was working at the FBI field house in Seattle, and he knew that there were many cabins set up in different areas. Even more fortunate for him was that there was one nearby. He unclipped JJ from her snowboard, still unconscious, and quickly brought her inside the cabin. The cabin was empty at the time, which was much better off in his opinion. He laid JJ gently down on the sofa, and began his work. Hotch had taken numerous survival courses throughout his life. Land survival, water survival, and luckily for him, snow survival. He knew that getting an extra pair of gloves and a hat would pay off some day, even if it did warrant a confused look from JJ when they were in the shop. He quickly took off her gloves, noting that she groaned a bit more while he took off the left one. Then he took off her jacket, and put his jacket on her. He took out the extra, dry hat and replaced hers with it.

JJ was in a state of mid-consciousness, so to speak. She was out, but not enough to where she couldn't feel some of the pain. Hotch had started massaging her hands to get the blood going again, and she winced as he touched her left hand. She thought that the pain was a dream that she couldn't find a way to wake up from, though she tried desperately to do so.

Hotch pulled out the spare gloves from his pants pocket. He slipped one on JJ's right hand, then her left as gently as he could. He felt the knots in his stomach tighten as he watched her wince and groan again.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but I've got to do this. Just hang on, J; I'm going to get you some help. You're going to be ok."

Hotch started a fire in the fireplace. This served two purposes. One was obviously to warm up the cabin, but it also would help the ski patrol to find the cabin because of the smoke from the chimney. He found the emergency radio on the desk to the far right of the room and tried to contact ski patrol. The connection was a little fuzzy, but it was manageable.

"We've got two people in cabin 28," he reported. "One is injured and needs medical attention immediately."

"A couple of guys are already on their way. They should be there in a few minutes."

Sure enough, in a few minutes help arrived. Hotch breathed a sigh of relief as they were air-lifted into the emergency helicopter and flown to the hospital. _You did what you could, Aaron, _he told himself. _JJ's tough, she'll pull through. _

-----

The surgeon exited the emergency room and approached Hotch around an hour after they had arrived at the hospital. Hotch stood from his seat in the waiting room, giving the surgeon a concerned look.

"She's stable," he said, "Considering what she has been through, she is in excellent condition. A few bumps and bruises. The only thing that I'd be concerned about is that she broke her wrist. We have it in a cast; it'll heal in a few weeks. But besides that, she'll be ready to leave in a day or two."

Hotch released the breath that he had been holding since the man came out.

"Thank you," he said, looking the surgeon dead in the eyes.

"Just doing my job," the surgeon said humbly, "They'll be wheeling her to her room in a few minutes. You're welcome to visit with her then."

Hotch nodded, and the surgeon took his leave. He followed as they wheeled JJ to her room soon after. She was still asleep, but she looked much more comfortable now. _Painkillers,_ Hotch thought. They transferred her to her bed, laid her head down comfortably and tucked her in. Hotch spent the next few hours waiting. He sat there the first hour, holding her hand. He thought about her, he thought about the rest of his team. That was when he remembered to call his team. He immediately pulled out his cell and dialed Morgan.

"Hey," Morgan said, "Enjoying your vacation?"

"Hardly," Hotch said.

"What's wrong," Morgan asked, instantly concerned.

"There was an avalanche."

"Oh my God," Morgan exclaimed. "Are you two ok?"

"JJ got caught up in it," Hotch said, then quickly added, "She'll be alright, though."

"Do you need us there?"

"Not right now. Did you guys find a case?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Just go ahead and fly there Sunday morning. We'll try to catch you whenever possible."

"Ok. Hotch..."

"Hm?"

"… Be careful. And watch after her."

Hotch chuckled. "Wish you had told us that _before_ we hit the slopes."

Morgan laughed a little. "Yeah, you have a point. See you soon!"

With that, Hotch hung up and refocused his attention on the young blonde in front of him.


	6. Chapter 6

JJ woke up about four hours after arriving at the hospital. She had no earthly idea where she was, why she was there, or why her left arm felt so heavy. She slowly glanced to her right and saw Hotch pacing back and forth. Memories of the slope came rushing back into her head like a tidal wave. She took a couple moments to refocus, and Hotch had yet to notice that she had woken up. She found his nervous pacing a little humorous; she had never seen him this way.

"Hotch," she said. Her voice was weak, barely above a whisper. Hotch jumped, then looked over with a look of relief on his face and rushed to sit by her side. He took her hand, glad to see that she was awake again.

"I was worried sick about you," he said.

JJ grinned through the pain.

"I'm ok, Hotch. Feel like I got hit by a truck, but I'll live."

Hotch chuckled a little, glad to hear his friend's sense of humor again.

"So," JJ continued, "Why does my arm feel like a brick?"

Hotch cringed a little. "Yeah," he started, "You broke your left wrist."

"Doesn't come as a surprise," she said, recalling how she threw it upward, hoping to give Hotch something to find her with. She looked into Hotch's eyes, and he actually tried to avert his for once. It wasn't anxiety anymore, it was guilt.

"Hotch," she said softly, "Stop blaming yourself."

Hotch didn't answer, so JJ continued.

"You saved my life. I owe you."

"You would have done the same for me," he finally said.

JJ shrugged, then looked Hotch straight in the eyes. "Thank you."

-----

Morgan flipped his phone shut and surveyed his surroundings. He was sitting at the same table on the jet as his three fellow agents. Reid was to his right; Rossi and Prentiss were across from them, with Prentiss taking the window seat. All eyes were on Morgan as he looked around, searching for what to say.

"That was Hotch," Prentiss asked.

Morgan nodded a little.

"Well," Rossi said, "What's going on?"

"There...," Morgan paused. This was around the time that he wished that Rossi was leading.

"What is it," Reid asked.

"There was an avalanche."

"While they were on the slopes," Prentiss asked, wide-eyed.

"Yeah."

Reid and Prentiss froze with shock, immediately imagining the worst. Rossi, on the other hand, kept his cool.

"Are they ok," the wily veteran asked.

"Hotch is fine," Morgan said. There were a few sighs of relief as Reid and Prentiss thawed a bit.

"What about JJ," Prentiss asked, concern written all over her face.

"She'll be alright," Morgan assured her. Telling the team that JJ had been buried in snow just hours ago was not going to help them focus.

"Thank God," Prentiss said. She wasn't completely sure what Morgan's answer meant, but it sounded better than what it could've been. She visibly relaxed, as did Reid.

"So," Rossi said, "Does he want us there?"

"No," Morgan answered, "He wants us to work the case in San Jose. He told me he would call if he needed us. So let's get back to work on victimology."

Everyone delivered quick nods before getting back to work.

-----

Hotch looked up at the clock. 10 o'clock at night. JJ had fallen asleep three hours ago, drowsy from the painkillers. He sat in a chair in the corner of the room, watching her sleep. He had tried to close his eyes countless times, but sleep evaded him. He listened to her soft breaths. He had almost lost her today, and the nagging thought of that would not let him rest. He was sure that his eyes were probably blood-shot after such a long day, but there was nothing to be done. He knew that JJ was ok now, and his feelings had shifted from concern and anxiety to anger and suspicion. Something seemed off about the whole entire accident. He had been thinking about it all day, but hadn't quite put his finger on it. Then it hit him like a sledgehammer. _The response time, _he thought. _How did the rescue unit find us so fast? It was almost like they were expecting an avalanche. _Hotch sighed; he wished it were a yawn that brought him some shut-eye. He would visit ski patrol in the morning, but until then he would try to curl up and sleep.

-----

Hotch woke up for good around six, after a few hours of sleeping off and on. He spent the whole night falling asleep, having nightmares about the avalanche, then waking up in a cold sweat. He'd calm himself and try again. This process repeated five or six times, with the dreams getting progressively worse, until he gave up sleeping for good. He groggily climbed off the chair and straightened himself up. He walked to JJ's bed, where the blonde was still sleeping soundly. Convinced that she would be fine, he walked out into the hallway. His stomach grumbled, and he realized that he hadn't eaten since before they hit the slopes yesterday. He left the hospital and wearily hailed a taxi.

"Denny's," Hotch mumbled, too exhausted to raise his voice. The driver nodded and made his way to Hotch's breakfast destination.


	7. Chapter 7

Hotch scarfed down his breakfast, then hailed another taxi. He had the driver take him back to Echo Mountain, paid him with a generous tip, and made his way to the rental car that had been left there yesterday in all the commotion. He took out his keys, started the ignition, and drove a short distance to the ski patrol headquarters. He entered the medium-sized building and was immediately greeted by the smile of a receptionist. The receptionist was a pretty brunette in her late twenties. _Probably what Prentiss looked like a couple years ago, _Hotch thought.

"Can I help you," she asked sweetly.

"Yes, I need to speak to the person that was in charge of responding to yesterday's avalanche."

She checked a log. "Hmm... Daniel Page was in charge of that rescue. May I ask who you are?"

"Aaron Hotchner." Hotch pulled out his badge to let her know that he was FBI. She examined it for a second, then picked up the phone.

"Hi, Mr. Page... I have an FBI agent here that needs to speak to you. His name is Aaron Hotchner... He needs to speak with you about the avalanche yesterday... Yes, sir. Bye." She hung up, then faced Hotch and flashed him another smile. The woman's cheerfulness helped his mood a little bit; it made him feel a little less anxious.

"He is on his way," she said, "He'll be here in about five minutes."

"Thank you," Hotch said with a small smile of his own. He took a seat in the lobby and looked up at the clock. It was only seven in the morning; the poor guy probably had just left for work. Hotch sat and waited patiently for the next few minutes. When Page arrived, they shook hands and introduced themselves. He was a husky man around Hotch's age, and Hotch had to admit that his grip was pretty impressive. His hair was graying, but still full, and he had a five o'clock shadow. They entered his office, where he motioned for Hotch to take a seat before taking one himself.

"So," Page began in a gruff, but friendly voice, "You need to talk to me about the avalanche?"

"Yes. I was wondering how you reacted to it so quickly."

"It wasn't all that... wait a second! You were there! I recognize you now; you were one of the two that we had to rescue. How is the woman doing, by the way?"

Hotch nodded to confirm that he was there.

"She is ok," he said, "Thanks to you guys."

"I'm just glad that we got there quickly."

"So am I, believe me. She is a co-worker of mine."

"They are like family, aren't they?"

Hotch nodded. There was a short pause, then Hotch got back to his question.

"So, how did you respond so fast?"

"Oh, yeah," Page said, "Well, it wasn't that much of a surprise. We've had five avalanches here this month."

"At Echo Mountain," Hotch asked, "Or the surrounding ski resorts?"

"Both. That was the first that we've had here, but there have been others at resorts close to ours. So everyone has been on-guard, ready for it to happen."

"Is that common?"

"Not at all," Page said with a dry chuckle, "It is actually very suspicious."

Hotch nodded. _So there is something going on around here, _Hotch thought.

"Have you mentioned anything to the police department," Hotch asked.

"We've been trying to get them to use a joint task force, since it has been going on in different cities, but jurisdictional red tape has gotten in the way. We've suggested some investigation, though."

"So you expect foul play?"

"Yes. This just doesn't happen this many times naturally. I think that someone is causing these avalanches to happen," Page paused for a second, then continued, "What part of the FBI are you in? You may be able to help."

"I'm the Unit Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit," Hotch answered.

"Oh, the profilers?"

Hotch nodded, impressed that a guy from a rescue unit actually knew that.

"A profile on who this guy would be could be helpful. And if I was you, considering what has happened, I know that I would want to be working the case."

Hotch nodded and thought about it for a few minutes.

"I can't just jump in uninvited, but I do want to work it and I definitely think that you are on to something. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," Page said graciously.

The two men stood, shook hands again, and Page led him out the door.

"Keep me in the loop," he yelled to Hotch as the man got back in his car.

"I will," he said with a wave, then stepped on the gas and headed back to the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

JJ was awake, and in pain. Her whole body was sore, especially her wrist. The worst part, though, was probably that she was stuck lying in the bed for the rest of the day. Being used to constantly being on the move, she knew that bed confinement would be hell. Hotch stepped back into her room around 9:30. She tried to smile at him, but figured that it probably looked like a grimace.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hi," she said, "Where did you disappear to?"

"I had to go talk to ski patrol. Had something on my mind. Grabbed breakfast first. I grabbed you something on my way back to the hospital."

Hotch handed her the carry-out bag from Denny's.

"Thanks," she said, "I'm starving. What did you have on your mind?"

"I just found some things as a little strange."

JJ chuckled.

"You're always suspicious about something."

"Yeah," Hotch said with a small smile, "Turns out that my suspicions were justified this time."

"They usually are. So are you going to tell me what is going on or what?"

"I asked the man in charge of our rescue how he responded so quickly. He told me that there had been five avalanches in the surrounding avalanche in the last month. We both expect foul play."

JJ was intrigued.

"So, what's our next move," she asked.

"What's _my _next move, you mean."

"Aw, come on, Hotch! There has to be _something _I can do."

Hotch sighed. He should have seen this coming from a mile away.

"JJ, you are stuck in a hospital bed with a broken wrist. What do you suggest you do?"

"I don't know... phone calls or something. Please, I'm going to die of boredom in this damn hospital."

He sighed again, longer this time.

"It was mentioned that the police departments may need to team up into a task force. You may be able to help with some phone calls. Also, I'll need you to call some of the team."

"Great! I'll get on it right away!"

"Whoa, not so fast," Hotch said, "We aren't in a hurry. I still have some things that I need to plan out, I'm not ready for the phone calls to be made yet. And since you are in bed today, I think you should get some rest. I want you to take it easy today, for once in your life."

Now it was JJ's turn to sigh.

"Alright," she groaned, "When do I get out of here, anyway?"

"The doctor says that he'll probably release you tomorrow. Until then, try to go easy on the nurses that come in to check on you. They are nice people, so don't be complaining around them too much, ok?"

JJ laughed, then winced in pain. She managed to give her boss a grin to reassure him that she was alright.

"Ok, I won't gripe to them too much."

"Good," Hotch said with a smile, "Now I've got to leave you a while. Have a lot of stuff to take care of. Will you be alright here by yourself?"

"I'm fine, Hotch," JJ said with an eye roll, "I'm a big girl. See you later!"

Hotch waved as he left the room, leaving JJ to eat her breakfast.

-----

Hotch sat outside of JJ's room in deep thought. He hadn't had as much to do as he had implied, but he figured that JJ wouldn't get any rest with him in the room. Didn't seem to make a difference, though. She was currently screaming at the TV as her Pittsburgh Panthers took on the Colorado State Rams.

"Run, Petey, run," he heard her shout. He assumed that a nurse had told her to quiet down, because the yelling took on an angry tone.

"I'm watching the ball game, let me be!"

Hotch chuckled and shook his head, wondering what he was going to do about his colleague's new-found spunk. Then he continued with his prior thoughts. He had called Page and asked where the other avalanches had happened. Afterwards, he considered which agents to bring up from San Jose. He wanted two, and he would leave the other two there. It was a tough decision, though. He narrowed it down to Rossi and Prentiss, Morgan and Prentiss, or Morgan and Reid. He had just made up his mind when more yelling ensued.

"Touchdown," JJ exclaimed.

That reminded him of his next decision: What to do with JJ? He thought it over for a good thirty minutes. He decided that he would let her help tomorrow, then send her home on the first plane Monday morning. Garcia would pick her up and take her to her apartment. She wouldn't be pleased, but he didn't have any other choice.

"Fumble," he heard her yell again.

He smiled and shook his head some more. She wouldn't leave without a fight, that was for sure.


	9. Chapter 9

At 8 o'clock Sunday morning, Hotch entered the hospital and was immediately approached by a nurse.

"You're with Miss Jareau, right," she asked.

"Yes ma'am," Hotch responded politely.

"She's been cleared to leave, but Doctor Shula says that the wrist will take two to three weeks to heal."

"Ok. Thanks for the update."

With an easy smile, she nodded farewell and went to attend to another patient. Hotch went the opposite way to JJ's room. When he arrived, the young blonde was already standing in the doorframe, ready and rarin' to go.

"You didn't waste any time," Hotch said.

"Got that right! I couldn't stand that bed for another second."

"You were here for less than two days," Hotch said, shaking his head.

"Two days I'll never get back," she said, storming by him into the hallway, "Where's the elevator?"

Hotch led the way to the elevator and out of the hospital. There was still a part of him that wanted JJ to slow down, but he also understood her need to race around. He had traded in the rental car and loaned an SUV from the Denver field house. After climbing in, he tossed a cell phone to his partner. She showed off her swift reflexes with a one-handed catch, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Who do I call," she asked excitedly.

"Morgan," Hotch replied, "I need him and Prentiss to catch a flight here."

"Yes sir."

She flipped open the phone, which was a tad more challenging with one hand, and dialed the number. Morgan picked up on the second ring.

"Morgan," he said, "What's up, Hotch?"

"Hey," JJ said, stifling a laugh.

"Oh, sorry," Morgan said, realizing his mistake. "How you feelin', girl?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm using his phone. I've felt better, I've felt worse. Thanks for asking."

"We were worried about you."

JJ had been on that side more than once. She knew how scary it was when a fellow agent, a family member, was in danger.

"I'm good, Morgan," she reassured him, "Thanks."

"So, what's up?"

"Hotch needs you and Prentiss to fly up here to Denver. We think we have a case."

Morgan sighed.

"I wish he had told me that yesterday. We are already in San Jose."

"Hold on a sec," JJ said. She looked over at Hotch, taking the phone away from her ear.

"He says they are already in San Jose."

"I told him to wait until this morning."

"C'mon, Hotch. You've known Morgan for as long as I have. Has he ever been one to wait?"

"I heard that," Morgan squawked from the cell.

"Shhh," JJ said into the cell, then returned to her conversation with Hotch.

"I mean, I know you guys don't profile each other, but sheesh!"

"Ok, ok," Hotch said, glancing at her, "Point taken. Tell him to catch a plane from there."

"He says..."

"I heard him," Morgan interrupted, "We'll be there soon."

"Good."

"And JJ..."

"Yeah?"

"Glad to hear from you. I can't tell you how much of a relief it is."

"Thanks. Glad to hear from you, too. Tell the team I said hey."

"Will do," Morgan said, "Later!"

JJ hung up, put the cell in the cup holder, and reported to Hotch.

"They'll be here ASAP."

Hotch nodded.

"I'm going to give you some numbers," he began, "to some local PD's. I need you to call each of them and see if we can get a detective from each on our side. I also need you to call the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. That'll be your first call, since they technically have jurisdiction. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"There is a sheet of paper with all the numbers in the glove compartment."

"On it," JJ said, happy to get back to work.

-----

Morgan drove to the airport with Prentiss in the passenger's seat. Agent Jacobs, who worked at the local field house, had been brought along to drive the SUV back. Morgan and Prentiss had been arguing the whole time, and Jacobs was relieved to see the airport looming.

"I can't believe that he is taking me off this case," Morgan said with rage.

"He has his hands tied, Morgan," Prentiss reasoned, "I'm sure he has his reasons."

"But that was _my _case, not Rossi's!"

"Would you cool it," Prentiss snapped, annoyed. "You're being selfish and there is no need to shout in a car."

"I'm _not _being selfish," Morgan growled defensively, "It is just that I lost my chance to prove myself. That was my time to shine without following anyone's lead."

Prentiss sighed.

"Derek, you don't need to prove yourself to anyone. You are a hell of a profiler, which is why Hotch is calling you up to Denver. He put you in a leadership position because he trusts you. You'll get more chances, but right now he needs us there."

Morgan took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Ok," he said calmly as he parked. The three agents hopped out of the vehicle, and Morgan tossed Jacobs the key.

"Thanks bud," Morgan said.

"Don't mention it."

Morgan joined Prentiss and they strolled up to the airport.

"Had he told me this yesterday," Morgan grumbled, "I would have been able to save some cash."

"I'll pay for the tickets," Prentiss offered.

"No, I'll get it."

Prentiss rolled her eyes.

"That is such a male response," she said.

"How so?"

"Oh please," she said with a dry laugh, "I offer to pay for something, and you get all macho and demand to pay for it."

"I didn't _demand_..."

He was cut short by Prentiss giving him "the look" again. He hated when she did that.

"I'm paying," she said with an icy glare.

"Fine," Morgan said, backing off. "Do whatever the hell you want."

"I will," she said edgily, approaching the counter.

"Two tickets to Denver, please," she said sweetly. Morgan never understood how Prentiss, or JJ for that matter, could go from icy to warm so quickly. They grabbed their tickets and boarded the jet in silence.


	10. Chapter 10

Rossi and Reid were had stopped at a gas station on the way back to the station. They had just finished at the first crime scene, and came up with nothing. Rossi was not pleased with being stuck in San Jose. It was hot, eight kids were dead, and he had just been tossed into a leadership position, which he had always viewed as babysitting. As much as he hated following authority, he also hated being authority. He would much rather be alone like the good ol' days. But the worst part may have been that Reid was having one of his days. He had learned to tolerate the young genius, even learned to admit that he was a huge asset to the team. However, if the heat wasn't enough to get to him, Dr. Spencer Reid definitely was.

Rossi wiped his brow; silently cursing the heat as if it'd do any good, then noted that Reid was gulping down a Dasani.

"Where the hell you find that," Rossi asked.

"Vending machine," Reid said, pointing the machines out with the jerk of a thumb.

"Come on, kid," Rossi said, heading to a much-needed drink.

"Since we're two men down..."

"Prentiss is a woman," Reid corrected innocently.

_Now he is just being a wise ass, _Rossi thought. He snarled at Reid.

"Sorry," Reid said, a little bug-eyed. "Please, continue."

Rossi cleared his throat.

"Like I was saying before I was so _rudely _interrupted," he began, "Since we're two _people _down, we may have to split up. You may be with a detective while I'm on the other side of town. Is that alright?"

"I'm fine with that," Reid said, either not noticing or ignoring the fact that Rossi was being a little condescending.

"Good," Rossi said, unscrewing the cap to his crisp water.

"What do you think their up to up there, anyway?"

"With the case?"

Reid nodded.

"No clue. Aaron is relentless, though. When he gets onto something, he doesn't quit."

Reid agreed. Hotch was like a stubborn dog who wouldn't let go of his chew toy when it came to a case.

Rossi started walking to the SUV when Reid piped up again.

"Did you know that over the last 20 years, there has been an average of 13 avalanche-related deaths in the United States?"

Rossi shook his head.

"I think that is exactly why Hotch _didn't _pick you to come to Colorado," he said. Then he chuckled and flashed Reid a small grin. He had to admit that the kid had grown on him. The whole team had, actually. It had taken a while, and he had resisted, but he was starting to think of the team as his family. Well, sort of, anyway. They hopped into the SUV and he took off for the station.

-----

"... I understand. Thanks for your time."

JJ hung up the cell.

"What did CBI have to say," Hotch asked while parking the black SUV in the hotel lot.

"They want the case, but they just don't have any agents available. Apparently budget cuts have hit them pretty hard."

"Haven't they hit us all hard?"

"Yeah," JJ said with a humorless laugh.

"So they _aren't _going to work the case?"

"Nope. I can call the other police departments, but I think we could get around it."

Hotch arched an eyebrow, curious. He knew that one of the things that JJ had become good at was sneaking around red tape and jurisdictional issues.

"Well," he asked.

"_Technically__,_" JJ said, "Our Unsub just attempted to murder two federal agents."

A thin smile shaped on Hotch's face as he caught on.

"Which makes it a federal matter?"

JJ nodded, flashing her pearly whites.

"Good thinking, but I'd still like to try to get the police involved. Just so that we have a little extra man-power."

"Isn't a bad idea," JJ agreed, "It will help us do our job without stepping on any toes."

They had grabbed their bags and stuffed them in the back of the SUV before JJ's phone rang again.

"Jareau," she said on the second ring.

"Hey JJ!"

"Hi," she replied cheerfully, recognizing Prentiss' voice immediately.

"We are about to board our flight," Prentiss reported. "Flight is about two and a half hours. You two going to be at the airport to pick us up?"

"Sure thing!"

"Alright. Glad to hear you are ok."

"Thanks! See you soon!"

She hung up.

"That was Prentiss," she said, "They are about to board their flight. They'll be in Denver in about two and a half hours."

Hotch glanced at the clock in the dashboard. It was one in the afternoon.

"Ok. Want to go grab some lunch before we go to pick them up?"

"Sounds like a plan. We should probably show up there by at least 3:30."

"We should. Any preference of what we eat?"

"Hmm... you know, I could really go for a hamburger right now."

"Really," Hotch said, trying to hide his surprise.

"Yup. But not a fast-food one, let's go to a sit-down restaurant."

"Alright," Hotch said, deciding that this was a good time to put the SUV's GPS to use. A few minutes later, he was pulling into a Ruby Tuesdays.

"This work for you," he asked.

"Perfect," she replied. They hopped out of the vehicle and entered the restaurant, where they were seated immediately. JJ ordered a burger with fries and a Coke, while Hotch decided to get a chicken sandwich and water. While waiting for their meals, Hotch decided that now was the time to bring up the topic that he hadn't been looking forward to.

"I'm sending you home tomorrow," he said matter-of-factly.

That comment caught JJ completely off-guard. "Hm?"

"I want you to catch a flight back to DC tomorrow morning."

"But Hotch..."

"No 'but's,'" he interrupted, his tone firm but not stern, "You need rest, and you aren't going to get it here. Also, there isn't much else you can do here, JJ. Look, it is hard for me to just send you off, but I don't really have any other options."

JJ's eyes burned into him, but she said nothing. She wanted to unload on him, argue with him about the reasons why she should stay. Fact of the matter was, though, that her boss was right, even though she would never openly admit it.

"I'll pay for the ticket," Hotch continued, "And Garcia will pick you up and take you to your apartment.

Something in JJ's eyes changed in hearing Garcia's name. It wasn't all that noticeable, but it didn't have to be for Hotch to pick up on it.

"What are you thinking," he asked the seemingly scheming JJ.

"Me," she asked, "I'm thinking that it is about time for the food to get here."

As if on cue, the waiter arrived with two trays. The two agents ate while enjoying a little casual conversation, then filed out and returned to the SUV. The next stop was the airport.


	11. Chapter 11

Reid and Rossi had been back at the station, and had completely hit a roadblock with victimology. Victimology was one of the more important parts, if not the most important part, to their profile, but it was leading them nowhere. The problem was the lack of connections between the victims. The only thing that was similar between the eight victims was the age. Eye and hair color varied, size varied, heck, even race and gender varied. None of the kids knew each other and they weren't involved in similar activities. They were also very spread out, some of them coming from the outer skirts of the city, others from downtown. Reid had been looking at the autopsy reports for 30 minutes, hoping for a connection. And then he hit the jackpot.

"I've got something," he said. Rossi walked over to where he was sitting to get a better look at the reports.

"The bruises on the bodies," Reid said, looking up toward Rossi, "Were a week old according to the medical examiner."

Rossi's eyes squinted a bit in thought.

"But the kids showed up dead a few days after being reported missing," he said slowly.

"The blunt force trauma is the only wound within that time period in each case," Reid said.

"I think this may be a mercy killing," Rossi said.

"You think the parents are responsible for the actual abuse and the killer is just trying to save the kids from them?"

Rossi nodded his head. He could see a shimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, all thanks to the brilliant doctor sitting before him. He grinned and tousled Reid's hair a bit.

"Great work," he exclaimed.

"Thanks," Reid said with a lop-sided smile, wondering why Rossi just messed with his hair. "But where does that leave us?"

"With a killer who was most likely a victim of child abuse."

-----

Back in Colorado, JJ and Hotch had arrived at the airport. They had been sitting for ten minutes before Hotch took out his cell and walked off to be out of JJ's earshot.

"What, you can't talk on the phone in front of me now," JJ asked, slightly irritated.

Hotch ignored her comment and continued walking and dialing. He had already ticked her off, and if he wasn't careful he would be in the same situation that he was before the trip, so a glare was out of the question.

"Thank you for calling the hacker hotline, how can I be of assistance," Garcia said upon answering her phone.

"Garcia, I need you to listen _very carefully _to me."

"O-k...," Garcia said slowly, not knowing exactly what was going on.

"JJ was injured," Hotch began, but he was interrupted by a chaotic reply.

"Oh, my girl," Garcia exclaimed in worry, "What happened?"

"Garcia, relax," Hotch said calmly, "She's ok. She's ok."

Garcia took a minute to calm herself, then told Hotch to continue.

"I'm sending her home. I need you to pick her up at the airport tomorrow and take her to her apartment."

"I... I can't do that, Hotch."

"Why not?"

"Because I know JJ, I know my girl. She'll try to convince me to go to the BAU, because she doesn't know what the word 'rest' means, and I can't say no to her. She is very convincing, you know?"

He did know, but he was going to have Garcia drive her home anyway.

"Garcia, just drive her to her apartment so that she can get some rest. That is all you have to do. I've already talked to her about it, she isn't going to try to pull anything." The last sentence may have been wishful thinking from Hotch, he wasn't completely sure.

"Ok," Garcia said with a sigh, "But don't say I didn't warn you when she shows up at the BAU."

"Thanks, Garcia! I owe you. Bye!"

Hotch returned to JJ, who seemed lost in her own thoughts. He thought about saying something, then decided not to. Anything that he said at this point would probably make matters worse; she just needed a little time to cool off.

-----

The plane landed, and five minutes later Morgan and Prentiss were meeting up with JJ and Hotch. Both agents immediately felt sympathy for the blonde, her left arm in a cast. Prentiss rushed up to JJ and gave her a bear hug.

"Emily," JJ gasped, "You're hurting me."

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Prentiss said, loosening her grip.

"It's ok."

Morgan placed a hand on JJ's shoulder.

"How ya' feelin'?"

"Pretty good. Happy to be out of the hospital."

"I bet," Morgan said with a grin.

"Alright," Hotch said, "We've already lost a few days, so we need to go ahead and get started. JJ, I want you to call the other police departments as soon as we get in the car."

"On it!"

"Prentiss," Hotch said, shifting his glance, "I want you to start mapping out where the avalanches are happening. Look for any patterns..."

"This isn't my first rodeo," Prentiss interrupted, "You want a geographical profile. Consider it done."

Hotch nodded, then turned to Morgan.

"Morgan, I want you to accompany me to the top of the mountain. We're going to have to see if we can find any evidence of what started the avalanche."

"Me and cold weather don't really get along too well," Morgan said.

"I thought you grew up in Chicago," Hotch questioned.

"Why do you think I moved down south?"

"Buy a coat."

"What do you think we'll find," Morgan asked, "Explosives?"

"Not sure," Hotch admitted, "With the snow and all, we'll probably find nothing. It'll probably be buried. It is worth a shot, though."

Morgan nodded, and that was the end of the little briefing. The group of four retrieved Prentiss' and Morgan's bags, loaded them in the SUV, and took off toward Echo Mountain.

-----

The SUV came to a slow stop in the parking lot at Echo Mountain and the team sprung into action. Well, kind of... Hotch and Morgan went on their way without a second thought, but Prentiss held up as she noticed that JJ had stopped outside her door. She approached the blonde, who looked out of it.

"JJ," she asked, "Earth to JJ."

"Huh," JJ said softly, snapping out of her trance.

"You ok," Prentiss asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Prentiss wasn't convinced by that response at all. It didn't take a profiler to know that something was on her friend's mind.

"Then why'd you freeze," she pressed.

"Umm... it's cold outside?"

Prentiss managed to stay focused, though it was hard to hold back the laugh from that.

"Talk to me, Jay."

JJ let out a deep sigh.

"You always have been persistent. I guess it is just that this is my first time here since the... umm... you know..."

Prentiss nodded. "I know. Just try to focus on the job. It'll keep your mind off it, and you'll be fine. And remember, we are all right here for you."

"Thanks."

Morgan popped his head out from inside the resort.

"Are you two coming? You know Hotch gets impatient after a while."

Prentiss waved to Morgan, then led the way to the building with JJ on her heels.


	12. Chapter 12

As the two women entered the lobby, Hotch pulled Prentiss to the side as Morgan distracted JJ.

"What was the hold up," Hotch asked in a hushed tone.

"I think seeing the mountain again just caught her a little off-guard. I talked to her, she'll be ok."

Hotch nodded, then they returned to the group.

"Ok," he said, "We all know what we need to get done, so let's get to work."

Prentiss had taken the map from the SUV with a pen. Hotch had given her Page's number, and she called him to verify when and where the avalanches were occurring. JJ took out her cell, called the first police department on Hotch's list. She was back in her comfort zone as soon as the receptionist said "Hello." Morgan and Hotch took a ride on the ski lift.

Derek Morgan was not a happy camper. He was bundled up even more than Hotch, yet he was the one that was shivering while his boss looked rather comfortable. He fought off the urge to ask why he didn't choose Rossi to come to Denver, or why Prentiss couldn't join him at the peak. He figured it was because of his expertise with explosives, and that assumption was soon confirmed.

"I said I didn't know," Hotch began, "but I'm almost positive it is explosives. Do you have any idea what type they would use?"

"Hard to say. I mean, it isn't everyday that I'm asked how someone would cause an avalanche. Obviously the power of the explosives would determine the size of the avalanche. If we can luck out and find some debris, I may be able to identify it."

"Ok. So we're going to need a little luck?"

Morgan let out a dry laugh. "No, we're going to need a _ton _of luck. Besides, don't we always need a little luck?"

"Usually comes in handy."

They jumped off the ski lift and immediately started digging around in the snow. The resort had been shut down since the avalanche, so they didn't have to worry about being disrupted by skiers. They had been out there for an hour and thirty minutes, but it seemed like ages to Morgan. He looked up at the peak and realized that they had barely even progressed down the mountain at all.

"This is like looking for a needle in a haystack," he shouted down to his boss, who was a little further down.

"Keep searching."

_That wasn't a predictable response at all, _Morgan thought sarcastically. But then something caught his eye. A little glint in the snow, but he had lost it. He moved his head around, trying to get the sun to catch it again, and bingo! He approached the shiny spot and started digging. A couple seconds later he came up with a small chunk of metal.

"Hotch," he yelled, "I got something!"

He waved the object in the air for Hotch to see as he worked his way back up to him.

-----

"Any luck," Emily Prentiss asked.

"Nope," JJ responded, shaking her head. "Only one left to call and no one has jumped on yet."

"Last time's the charm..."

The blonde scoffed. "How's the geographical profile coming along?"

"I know where the avalanches happened and I know when they happened. I don't see a pattern, which means that it is kind of useless. Can't predict what his next move is without a pattern."

She sighed. "This is more of Reid's thing."

JJ laughed. "Hotch should have brought him up and left Rossi solo. He'd probably like that better, anyway."

Prentiss grinned. "Think they both would. However, he's not here, I'm stuck, and the boys are still up on the mountain."

"What do you have on the victims?"

"There are none."

"What," JJ asked, taken aback.

"I know, I was surprised, too. I made some phone calls on my own, talked to the rescue units and Garcia. Our Unsub caused the first four avalanches on days when the resorts were closed."

"So Hotch and I were the first that were on the mountain during his avalanches?"

Prentiss nodded. "I have some theories about it, but I want to wait for Hotch and Morgan. What the hell is taking them so long, anyway?"

"No clue," JJ said with a shrug, taking out her cell phone again. "Back to work?"

"Yeah," Prentiss said, returning to the map in hope of finding a pattern.

-----

Meanwhile, Hotch and Morgan had finally finished their search. They had searched in the general area of what Morgan had found for thirty minutes, but there was nothing more. Morgan was about ready to prop his feet up by the fire and have himself a cup of hot chocolate, and he wasn't afraid to let Hotch know.

"Hotch. We've been at this for two hours. We knew it was unlikely that we'd find anything, so we should take the fact that we found anything as lucky and head back. I'm sure the girls are waiting for us with all kinds of good news."

Hotch sighed, which made it even easier to see his breath.

"You are just tired of the cold."

"Damn right," Morgan exclaimed, "Besides, how are two agents with colds going to be able to solve this case?"

"You're right," Hotch said, "Let's head back."

They made their way back to the ski lift to take a ride down. As the lift crawled down the mountain, Morgan studied his findings.

"What is it," Hotch asked.

"Just a piece of metal. Could be from a bomb, but it is hard to say. We can get it checked for prints, but I doubt they'll find anything."

"So we have nothing?"

"That's a little pessimistic, Hotch."

"Sorry," Hotch mumbled. Morgan studied his boss' face and noticed the bags under his eyes and the pale complexion.

"Hotch," he said with concern, "You've got to get some sleep, man."

"I've been getting enough," he answered defensively, making it obvious that he didn't want to talk about sleep.

The rest of the ride went by silently, as both profilers contemplated their next move.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: This is the last addition so far. I'm trying to get to a closing point in this one, but I still see quite a few chapters left to go (a lot shorter than the ones that I've posted already, though). Let me know what you think.**

"Look what the cat dragged in," teased Prentiss as the two men entered the building. They were still damp from the snow and Morgan's teeth chattered slightly.

"That was so funny I forgot to laugh," he replied with an annoyed glance.

"Rawr," JJ mocked playfully. Morgan and Hotch hung up their coats before following the ladies to the lobby, where there was a warm fire crackling and plenty of chairs. The team took seats and immediately started briefing each other on their findings.

"Hotch and I canvassed the top of the mountain for a few hours and came up with this." Morgan pulled the piece of debris out of his pocket.

"Part of the bomb," Prentiss asked.

"Perhaps, but we don't really know. Did you have any more luck than we did?"

"Nope," Prentiss said, "The map didn't provide any patterns. He is just picking out mountains and blowing them up."

"No luck here, either," JJ said, "I couldn't get anyone to agree to get on this case. However, with the help of Mr. Page, we do have the full cooperation of all the local resorts and ski patrols."

"That's good," Hotch said.

"That's not all," Prentiss said, "There are no victims."

Morgan's and Hotch's heads snapped toward Prentiss, all ears.

"The first four avalanches happened on days when the resorts were closed and no one was on the mountain."

"That changes the whole case," Morgan said.

"Definitely," Prentiss agreed, "I've got a theory on what makes this guy tick."

"Shoot," Hotch said.

"I think our guy was trying to make a statement. He doesn't seem to be trying to hurt anyone, that doesn't seem to be his motive. However, maybe after four times he felt that his message wasn't heard, so he decided to start one while people were on the mountain."

"And he just happens to pick the day that two federal agents were on the slopes?"

"Maybe he knew who you were, maybe it was just a coincidence."

"Well, either way, let's make it the mistake that he ends up regretting."

-----

"What's our next move," Spencer Reid asked.

Rossi looked at the clock. It was 7 already, and he knew that they would have more long days ahead of them. "Well, tonight we go to the hotel and get some sleep. We are stretched pretty thin, so rest will be important."

Reid nodded agreement. "Tomorrow?"

"We are going to have to tread lightly for the next couple of days, including tomorrow. If these parents were abusing their kids, they aren't going to be that cooperative with us. We need to find out some info about how the abuse cases were handled, if they were handled at all. Did a neighbor or teacher or someone report it? Did the parent that wasn't doing the abuse report it? If there is a parent that reported it, we may be able to get them to cooperate. Tomorrow is going to be a lot of work, we can't leave any rock unturned."

"So, in other words, rest up tonight?"

"Exactly, because we sure as hell won't be getting much until we finish this case."

Reid looked at the files strewn all over the table and Rossi's chicken scratch on the marker board.

"Do we need to clean this up?"

"Nah," Rossi replied, "Walker said that this conference room was all ours, so just leave it."

Reid nodded and followed Rossi out to the SUV. The ride to the hotel was a short one, and both agents were tucked in and out like a light shortly after entering their rooms.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Here's the next update. Hope you are enjoying it so far. **

JJ had already packed, showered, dressed, ate breakfast in the hotel's dining room, and brushed her teeth. Despite all of this, it was only 6:30 in the morning. _You seriously need to learn how to sleep in, Agent Jareau, _she thought to herself. She sat at the edge of the bed in her room, waiting for her escort to knock and say that it was time to go catch her flight, which was scheduled to takeoff at 8:20. She normally hated waiting. She was young, energetic, and used to scurrying around and getting things accomplished. However, she was rather happy to wait this time. It gave her a chance to collect her thoughts, and there were plenty of thoughts to collect. The last few days had been chaotic, and though she hated to admit it, she was sore, tired, and a bit shaken. Prentiss had noticed this at the resort, and there was no doubt in JJ's mind that Hotch and Morgan had also noticed. Three quick knocks broke her concentration. She looked over at the alarm clock and realized that half an hour had flown by.

"Coming," she said, moving to the door. She was expecting Hotch, but was instead greeted by the smiling face of Emily Prentiss as she opened the door.

"Morning," Prentiss said, "I asked Hotch if I could be your taxi driver. He didn't seem to mind, so here I am."

JJ looked a bit perplexed, but managed to muster a smile for her friend.

"Come in," she said, moving out of the way, "My bags are over there."

"You ready to go," Prentiss asked.

JJ sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

Prentiss cocked her head to one side. "You don't sound ready."

"We'll talk in the car, 'kay?"

Prentiss nodded and grabbed a bag. JJ grabbed the other, and they walked out to the SUV, JJ closing the door behind her. They tossed the bag in the back, then hopped in with Prentiss in the driver's seat. She drove up to the front of the hotel and parked so that JJ could return her key. She got back a few minutes later, and Prentiss took off down the road.

"So," Prentiss started after she had been driving for a few minutes, "What happened?"

"What do you mean? Don't you know?"

"Not really. I mean, I know there was an avalanche and I can see that you have a broken arm, but no one has told me what went down and I haven't had the time to ask."

"I got caught up in the avalanche," JJ said, a shiver going down her spine as she recalled her near-death experience. It wasn't her first encounter with possible death, but it wasn't something that you got used to. "I threw my arm up in hope to give Hotch something to find me with. He did, he rescued me. However, the snow hit my wrist hard enough to break it."

"So that's why you froze at the resort?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm surprised no one told you."

Prentiss shrugged, eyes still on the road.

"They probably just didn't want me all worried," she said.

JJ sighed. They were getting closer to the airport, and she wasn't ready to let go of this case just yet.

"You know he is sending you home for your own good," Prentiss said.

"Yeah, I know," JJ said, "Still doesn't make it feel any better."

"Jay, you of all people don't have anything to prove. You do a very tough job and make it look easy. Even though you are hurt, you've been working your tail off since me and Morgan got here. But you need rest, and you'll be safer back at DC. Just try to relax and let us take it from here."

JJ sighed again, but this time wasn't quite as drawn out. "Ok."

"And think of it this way, you have an entertaining ride with Garcia awaiting you," Prentiss said, shooting a quick glance and grin in her friend's direction.

JJ chuckled, but there was still a question that she was itching to ask. "Why did you volunteer to pick me up?"

"Umm… well, for one I wanted to talk to you about some things that we've already covered, and two… umm…"

"What is it?"

"The second reason was that I didn't want you killing Hotch while he drove for making you go home."

JJ laughed, something that made her feel a lot better.

"Oh, don't tell me that you wouldn't have done it if he was here instead of me."

"Fine, fine, point taken," she replied. The rest of the drive was spent casually talking and listening to whatever tune came on the radio. Before they knew it, Prentiss was parking the car again. Fifteen minutes later, JJ was waving goodbye to her friend and boarding her flight back to DC. _Least Hotch paid for me to fly first-class, _she thought as the plane took off.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Sorry for the long wait, but I finally updated. Like always, I don't own CM and this is unbeta'd. I'm trying to wrap this one up, but I've been struggling a bit writing it lately. Enjoy!**

A few hours later, Hotch, Morgan, and Prentiss almost had a complete profile. Upon a second review of the chunk of debris that had been discovered, Morgan had found a product number.

"Have Garcia see if she can tell us what stores sell that," Hotch ordered. Morgan nodded, pulling out his phone.

Turning to Prentiss, Hotch started going over what they knew. "This Unsub hasn't tried to kill anyone until now, which suggest that he was trying to send a message and is now trying to raise the stakes. But what is the message and who is it to?"

"It would seem," Prentiss said, "That the message is directed at the people that run the mountain. The resorts, the ski patrols, maybe even the skiers themselves. An environmentalist, perhaps?"

It was a possibility, but it wasn't the only possibility. Hotch didn't want to speculate that much yet.

"He has enough knowledge of the area to know when these resorts are closed. He also is knowledgeable in explosives."

Morgan clicked his phone shut and joined the group.

"Garcia found who sold this," he said, holding up the debris. "There is an ACE Hardware store ten minutes up the road that sold this six days ago. My girl even got us directions."

"Good work," Hotch said, "You mind heading that way and asking some questions?"

"No problem," Morgan said, already heading to the door. Hotch's attention went back to Prentiss.

"This just doesn't feel like an environmentalist to me," he said.

Prentiss shrugged. "That was just an idea," she said.

"Can you think of another?"

She paused for a moment, then answered, "What if it is someone who didn't quite make the cut?"

"How so?"

"I mean with the ski patrol. We've seen it before in competitive fields. Like the cop that seems to be good at the job, but he never gets hired because he fails the psych exam or he just seems a little off."

"Which would make his message directed at the ski patrol. The what could be revenge, but we won't really know until we get him. But we can ask the ski patrols involved if they had to reject a guy that fits."

Prentiss nodded. "And hopefully Morgan can grab us a physical description at the hardware store," she said, though she doubted it.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Two more updates! The first one (Chapter 16) is very short (199 words, to be exact). The second one is much longer. Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. Please R&R if you like.**

"Our kid is killed by some sicko, and you are more concerned about investigating us," the man exclaimed lividly, "Go to hell!"

"We need to know this to find the killer," Rossi tried to explain, but was interrupted, this time by the mother.

"Get out," she yelled.

"Ma'am," Reid said, but didn't get any further.

"GET THE HELL OUT," the woman screeched. So the agents did as told, with the door being slammed so fast that it almost hit them on their way out.

"This isn't good," Rossi said, climbing into the driver's seat. This was the third family that they had visited, and the reception from each had been similar. He hadn't been cussed out so much since the bitter end of his last marriage. He shook his head at that memory as he made a left turn. And then he saw it...

To the left was a two-story brick building. The sign outside the building said "Social Services," providing contact information underneath. A light bulb gleamed in Rossi's head as he passed the building.

"Reid," he said, "Call up Garcia. I need her to check into something."

Reid took out his cell and dialed the tech's number.


	17. Chapter 17

Penelope Garcia had picked up JJ five minutes prior. She gave her a bear hug as soon as she got off the plane, which JJ accepted gingerly. Now the bags were packed in the trunk of Garcia's classic car and they were off. Garcia's cell rang not ten seconds after she peeled out of the parking lot. One hand on the wheel, the spunky blonde (who had neon green highlights today) fumbled for the phone, answering on the fourth ring.

"Driving my baby right now," she said, "Friend or foe?"

"Friend... I mean Reid."

"Ah, my young genius friend. How's the weather in sunny California?"

"Hot," Reid said. Garcia could hear Rossi say "Damn right."

"Garcia, watch out," JJ yelled as they were inching closer and closer to the other lane.

Garcia waved that off. "So, what's up Spencey?"

"Um, we need you to look something up," Reid started.

"Penelope," JJ screamed, covering her eyes as Garcia made a right-hand turn on two wheels. Being in an avalanche suddenly seemed inviting.

"I can't look up anything, I'm driving," Garcia said.

"More like crashing," JJ muttered, still breathless. "You know what? Give me the phone so that you can drive with _both_ hands on the wheel!"

"Yes, mom," Garcia said, rolling her eyes. "Sorry, my amigo, would love to chat, but Jayje is grounding me. Talk to her."

Garcia tossed the cell onto JJ's lap. The phone conversation lasted another two minutes, then JJ hung up.

What does he want me to use my blessed fingertips to find?"

"He wants us to run the victim's," JJ began, but was stopped.

"_Us_," Garcia said, almost shocked. "Um, sorry honey, I love ya' and all, but you are going home!"

JJ sighed. "Fine. He wants _you_ to run the victim's names with Social Services. Happy? Oh, and he said to tell you not to call him Spencey. It creeps him out."

"But Spencey is an adorable name," Garcia perkily said, "Yes, I'm happy. Now I need some directions to your apartment."

"No problem," JJ said. This was where her plan began. She was going to give Garcia directions to the BAU, hoping that the tech would be distracted enough by driving that she wouldn't notice. "Take a left here."

She noticed. Five minutes later, Garcia had stopped at a gas station and gave JJ her version of an intimidating look.

"What," JJ asked innocently.

"You are trying to trick me into going to the BAU. Not going to work, sister!"

JJ sighed. "Please."

"No! I promised Hotch that I'd take you home."

JJ folded her arms and pouted like a two-year-old. When that didn't work, she added in the eyes.

"No," Garcia begged, "No, not the puppy dog eyes. You know I can't say no to those."

Just hearing that encouraged JJ to use her best puppy dog pout, and try as she might not to look, Garcia glanced and broke.

"Fine," she sighed, "But just to let you know, I'm not pleased with you right now."

"Thank you," JJ said with a sweet smile, "You're the best!"

"Yeah, just tell Hotch that when he finds out," Garcia muttered.

"Don't worry," JJ said, "I'll take full responsibility if he does."

The next fifteen minutes were spent with Garcia making a few more semi-reckless turns and grumbling to herself occasionally until she arrived at her parking spot. Hotch wasn't going to be pleased if he found out, but what really bothered her was that she was just worried about JJ.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: More focus on Reid and Rossi's case. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten Hotch, Prentiss, and Morgan. This is just all a part of the master plan. Also, I'm sorry if this isn't the most believable case, but I'm not an expert. I don't have a job in law enforcement or Social Services, so 99% of what I know comes from TV shows. **

Reid and Rossi were back at the police station, a move that Reid still wasn't quite sure about.

"Why aren't we questioning the other families," he asked.

"Because," Rossi said, "If we get the info that I'm hoping we will from Garcia, then we won't have to worry about interviewing them."

Detective Walker rushed into the conference room.

"I've got bad news, guys," he said hurriedly, "Another kid just went missing."

Rossi sighed. As if things weren't bad enough...

"How long," Reid asked.

"Since this morning," Walker answered, "The parents just reported it about half an hour ago. Have you guys got a profile yet?"

"Yeah, we do," Rossi said, "I wanted to wait so that we could get it a little more accurate, but there isn't time to wait now. Get your guys up here and we'll brief them."

Walker nodded and left to fetch his fellow cops. Reid turned to Rossi.

"Do we really have enough for a profile," he asked.

"Yes," Rossi said, "I would have liked to narrow it down to a few suspects for them, but we've got to give them something before they start to turn on us."

Walker was back with five other cops, and the briefing began. Rossi started it up, letting his years of lecturing experience take the lead.

"Our Unsub is a white male who was probably physically abused as a child. We have reason to believe that he works for Social Services."

"Where the hell are you getting _that_ from," one of the cops asked skeptically, but piped down after Walker gave him a hard glare.

"These kids are scattered all over the city and don't appear to have any obvious connections between them. The autopsies showed a possibility of each of them being abused, most likely by their parents. A person working for Social Services could have had contact with all of these kids without it being mentioned to us because the parents don't want us to know about child abuse. It also explains why there would be so much space between where the victims live."

"Our Unsub is what we call a mercy killer," Reid said, "He kills these children to save them from the suffering that the parents are putting on them. The abuse during his childhood would make him want to help these kids, but the abuse could also break his psyche enough to where he would believe that killing them is helping them. We believe that the blunt force trauma is the only wound that he is inflicting. He doesn't want to put them through severe pain or torture them, he just wants to kill them to get them away from their abusive parents."

"The chances are that there is something that has happened in his life recently that has brought this on, a stressor," Rossi continued, "It could be the death of someone close to him, a rejection, anything really. The stressor is sort of the proverbial last straw, the event that finally sends him spiraling out of control."

"How sure are you about this guy being Social Services," Walker asked.

"I'm pretty sure," Rossi said, "But we can't prove it just yet. Our tech, Penelope Garcia, is looking through phone records. I'm expecting her to call at any time."

"What's our next move?"

"Until we have the information from Garcia, we don't have a lot of options. If she calls and gives me a name, which I have a feeling that she will, then we can head over to Social Services and start trying to find this guy there."

"You want to go ahead and head over there?"

"Yes, that way we won't have to waste time driving there after she calls. I know where it is at, so Reid and I will drive there in the SUV."

"I'm coming, too," Walker said, obviously itching to arrest this guy. "Do you have anything for the rest of my guys?"

"Have them be ready to drive out to this guy's house. Once I have the info, we'll want to make sure to cover that in case he isn't at work."

The cops behind Walker nodded and the briefing ended. Walker, Rossi and Reid went out the door together. Walker got into his Crown Vic, Rossi and Reid hopped into the SUV, and they drove off for the Social Services building.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: I'm so sorry that I've made everyone wait so long for this next chapter. I got sucked up into homework and school, and just found it more convenient to write and read one-shots rather than longer fics. However, I'm going to at least try to finish this fic up, starting with the San Jose case... To all my readers, thank you for being so patient while waiting for me to update, I know it has been forever. Hopefully this chapter won't be a disappoint, I don't think it is all that good, but this particular case has become quite hard for me to write. *DISCLAIMER* I still do not own Criminal Minds and do not have a beta. Without further ado, chapter 19...**

Three minutes away from the Social Services office, Reid's cell phone rang. He answered immediately.

"You were on to something, boy wonder," Garcia said. "All eight children were associated with Social Services in San Jose."

"Was there one person in particular that they met," Reid questioned.

"Yes," Garcia said, "Five of them were assigned to a man named Max Baker. 31 years old, white. He got a divorce with his wife of five years four months ago. There is also one documented report of physical abuse when he was 12, but nothing was done about it."

"Ok," Reid said. "Is he working today?"

"He should be, yes."

"Good. We need to know his home address."

Garcia told Reid the address and he hung up.

"Our Unsub is probably Max Baker. He was possibly abused when he was a child, but no action was taken. He just suffered through a divorce four months ago. He works at Social Services and should be in his office today."

"Fantastic," Rossi said, finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. "Did you get the address to his house?"

"Yes, sir."

"Call the police department and tell the officers to get over there, quickly."

Reid nodded, pulling out his phone again.

Rossi parked the SUV and rushed to the Social Services building, Reid and Walker on his heels. He took out his badge as soon as he entered and approached the receptionist.

"Where is Max Baker," he asked.

"I don't know," the receptionist said, "He didn't come in today."

"Do you know where he would be," Reid asked.

"No, sorry," she replied, "He's a very private man."

"Dammit," Walker said. He knew that the longer that it took to find this man, the slimmer the chance of finding the missing child alive.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: I'd like to take this time to thank all of my readers, especially the ones that have reviewed this fic! I appreciate all of you, the support you give me keeps me going! Also, thanks for being loyal through the long drought of no updates! With that being said, it is time for Chapter 20…**

"What did Garcia say Baker's home address was," Rossi asked.

Reid gave him the information as Walker pulled out his cell phone of call his officers. Rossi and Reid marched out the door toward the SUV, Walker on their heels while yelling at the cop on the other end to step on the gas to get to Baker's house. The next moment a black SUV and gold Crown Vic exited the parking lot, sirens blaring.

Twenty minutes later, Rossi, Reid, and Walker were coming to a halt on Baker's street. There were already a few police cars there, but there was still urgency in the air. They got out of their vehicles quickly and reached for their guns as they rushed to the front porch. Before they made it to the door, a man was being escorted out in handcuffs.

"We asked him where the kid is," the officer told Walker, "He wouldn't say a word."

"I've got it," Walker said, grabbing Baker's arm roughly. "Look for the kid."

Rossi and Reid had already stepped into the house and were frantically helping the police officers to look for the kid.

"I don't care if we have to turn this place upside-down," Rossi barked, "Let's find this kid!"

The officers were checking all of the rooms upstairs, when Reid nudged Rossi on the shoulder and pointed at a cracked door. Rossi shoved it, revealing a flight of stairs going down. A basement. The two agents flew down them, Rossi in the lead.

"Check everything," he said to Reid, "Corners, cabinets, anything."

"Isn't my first time, sir."

Rossi took the side of the basement closest to the stairs, Reid headed deeper into the room. There wasn't any sign of a child, not even a sound.

"Hey Rossi," Reid called, "I think I found something."

He was pointing down at a lump in a rug. Rossi pulled the rug black, revealing what appeared to be a trapdoor. He swung the door back, revealing pitch darkness. Reid spotted a flashlight on a shelf to his left, grabbed it and headed down the stairs. He swept the flashlight from side to side as his feet touched rock at the bottom. On his third look to the right, he saw a boy's sneaker. Aiming the flashlight up a bit, he saw a boy cowering, but still very much alive.

"Found him," Reid yelled out to Rossi, then turned to the kid. "Hey. My name is Spencer. You're safe now, just come with me."

Reid picked up the kid, who wrapped his hands around his neck, and climbed back up to Rossi.

Rossi breathed a sigh of relief as this case had finally come to a close.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: This chapter isn't going to blow anyone away, but I kind of like it. I think it serves as a good conclusion to the San Jose case and a perfect segue for the avalanche case. Please read and review, the support keeps me going! As always, I do not own CM and I don't have a beta.**

Back at the San Jose Police Department, Rossi was about ready to accompany Walker in interrogation when his phone rang.

"Rossi."

"It's Hotch. How is your case coming along?"

"Good. We just apprehended the Unsub and are ready to question him."

"Is the detective capable of doing that himself?"

"I'm sure he could with a few pointers, but why?"

"I need you and Reid to meet with us here in Denver immediately. The Unsub is getting more bold and we are stretched way too thin. I can fill you in when you get here."

"Ok. We'll take the jet and meet you there soon."

"Thanks, Dave."

Rossi clicked his phone shut and gestured to Walker.

"What's up," Walker asked.

"That was my boss. We are working another case in Colorado, and he needs me and Reid. We're going to have to leave now."

"Ok. I can handle the interrogation myself."

"Do you mind if I give you a few tips? This isn't your typical suspect."

"I'll take all the help I can get."

"Baker believes that he was doing the right thing. He thinks that he was actually helping these kids. I know it is hard, but try to show some empathy towards him. If you act like you understand why he did it and make him believe that you think that he was right, then he will probably be more open with what he says. Also, knowing that he was abused is your secret weapon. Don't show your hand too early, save it for when you have no other options."

Walker nodded. Rossi held out his hand and Walker shook it.

"Good luck," Rossi said.

"Thanks. It has been a pleasure working with you both. Good luck in Colorado."

Walker released Rossi's hand so that he could shake with Reid, and then the two FBI agents and the detective went their separate ways.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: Would Rossi and Reid please take a backseat to the rest of the team? Thank you! That's right, The R&R Show are going to take a break for a little rest and relaxation! I'd like to thank everyone for continuing to read this fic (which becomes longer and longer) and a special thanks for all the reviews! All mistakes in this chapter are my own. *DISCLAIMER* I do not own Criminal Minds.**

Hotch, Prentiss, and Morgan were in a rut with the case. Morgan's inquiries at the hardware store had come up empty and hopes of catching the Unsub seemed slimmer than ever.

"What's our next move," Prentiss asked.

"We wait for Rossi and Reid."

"This sucks," Morgan exclaimed.

"I know, but there isn't much else we can do."

"Can Garcia do anything," Prentiss asked.

"Actually, yes. Let's get a video feed set up with her."

"Yes sir," Morgan said. Talking to Garcia was better than doing nothing. He set up the feed and Hotch took a seat in front of the computer. Prentiss was to his left and Morgan was his right-hand man as Garcia's vibrant face filled up the screen.

"Garcia," Hotch began, but was interrupted by a loud "Shhh!" from the analyst.

"She's sleeping," Garcia whispered. The team looked behind Garcia and saw Jennifer Jareau with her head down on the desk and a coffee mug inches away from her.

"I tried, sir," Garcia continued, "but she broke me down. Please don't be mad."

Hotch sighed and rubbed his forehead a bit, then looked up.

"It's ok, Garcia," he said in a hushed tone, "Just don't tell her that I know. I don't want her stressing out. I'll talk to her when I get back."

"Yes sir," Garcia said, slightly relieved that Hotch didn't seem too angry.

"I do need you to find something for me."

"That's my specialty!"

"I need you to look through articles in Denver newspapers."

"What for and how far back?"

"We are looking for disturbances and protests, particularly involving avalanche safety. Start with the most recent and look back about one or two years."

"Ok. Any particulars you need?"

"Names of people involved and details on the disturbance."

"On it... And, um, sir?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't be too hard on Jayje. She only wanted to help."

"I'll be gentle," Hotch promised, flashing a reassuring half-smile. He was seething on the inside, but that wouldn't help his team right now.

"Thanks," Garcia said with a smile before clicking off the feed and getting to work.

"So," Morgan asked, "what do we do when Rossi and Reid get here?"

"We'll split up and asks questions at each ski patrol," Hotch answered, "Until then, try to rest a bit. It has been a long couple of days, and I don't see it coming to an end any time soon."


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: Wow, almost three months have gone by and I haven't updated this. Sorry to everyone that has been waiting, but "Secrets" just kind of took off and so I worked on that. It is now complete and I'm quite happy with it, so feel free to check it out if you've got the time. To everyone that has waited for this fic to pick back up and have remained loyal, thank you so much! This chapter is dedicated to all of you, because you rock! I'm also going to make it longer than usual, because you guys deserve it! My plans are to finish this one up (I'm looking forward to the last few chapters after I wrap up the case, I think there should be some good stuff) before I start working on a new fic which will serve as a sequel to "Secrets." *DISCLAIMER* I do not own Criminal Minds and all mistakes are my own.**

Rossi pulled into the hotel parking lot, driving the SUV that had been used to pick him and Reid up at the airport. They were greeted outside by the rest of the team outside.

"You know we didn't pack jackets when we thought that we were just going to San Jose," Rossi grumbled.

Prentiss chuckled. "As if Morgan and I did?"

"Alright," Hotch said, "We've got five agents and five ski resorts. That means we are going to have to split up. We've only got two SUV's, so we are going to have to drop off people and pick up people afterwards. Morgan and I will drive, since we both know which resorts everyone is getting dropped of at. Reid, you're with Morgan. Everyone ready to go?"

There were multiple nods as Rossi tossed Morgan the keys and went with Hotch and Prentiss.

* * *

JJ opened one eye and was greeted by a troll with pink hair literally an inch from her nose. She let out a scream and jumped, nearly falling out of her chair. Garcia, who slept in her chair, woke with a jolt. She looked over at JJ, who was still breathing heavy.

"Jayje," she said, "You ok?"

"Oh, yeah," she said, "Fine. It is just that troll doll, it was right in front of me and it scared me a little."

"Oh, sorry my lovely. If I had noticed that Dessie was so close to you, I would have moved her."

"No problem, I'm just glad that I didn't spill my coffee," she said, feeling the mug and frowning because it was ice cold. "You name your trolls?"

"Oh yes! That one is Destiny, but I call her Dessie." Garcia pointed to a blue-haired one on the other side of the desk. "And that one's Buster. They've got this on-again, off-again relationship going on."

"O-K," JJ said, giving Garcia a perplexed look, "Um, yeah, I'm just gonna' grab some more coffee."

"Oh, grab me some too, Jayje," Garcia exclaimed, holding out her mug with a big grin. JJ smiled as she collected the mugs.

"How can I resist that," she asked as she left the cubby.

* * *

Hotch parked the SUV at Echo Mountain and once again walked into the ski patrol building. He had already dropped off Prentiss and Rossi, leaving them both with the same instructions. The receptionist was the same the other day. She gave him a sweet smile.

"Welcome back," she greeted, "Mr. Page is expecting you. I'll escort you to his office."

"Thank you," Hotch said as she walked around her desk and he followed her. A few moments later, he was sharing another firm hand shake with Daniel Page.

"Agent Hotchner, glad to hear from you again! Is there anything I can help you out with?"

"Actually, there is. We think that the man that is doing this applied for a job with a ski patrol. Perhaps multiple ski patrols. There's a chance that you've interviewed him in the past."

"I interview a lot of people, Agent Hotchner, I don't remember them all."

"The guy that we are looking for would have struck you as odd. He works hard and he is well-qualified, but if he was to take a psych evaluation, he would fail it. For whatever reason, despite liking certain things about him, you would refuse to hire him. Some other ski patrols around here would have done the same thing. He would have applied to multiple ski patrols, and he would have been rejected by all of them."

Page pondered this for a second. "What else do you know about this man?"

"After being rejected so many times, we believe that he gave up. However, he decided to move on to something a little more radical. He probably started with protests. Maybe something environmental, maybe something against the ski patrols. He would continue to protests until he lost attention from the media. He would start to feel like his message isn't being heard, so he would escalate. The avalanches, he knows that they will obviously grab your attention, so he starts them with explosives. However, after four tries with no one on the mountain, he decides that his point isn't getting across, so the fifth try is done with people on the mountain," Hotch paused to take a breath, "Mr. Page, does this sound like anyone you know?"

"Actually, it does," Page said as he started searching through a filing cabinet. "Logan Graves. He applied here probably about a year ago, I still have his resume on file. He was impressive. Graduated from Colorado State University with Honors and had a few internships with ski patrols and rescue teams. Here it is."

Page opened the file and looked over it, allowing Hotch to see it.

"He came in here and I was just really impressed. He looked professional, acted professional, it was hard not to hire him."

"So what made you turn him down?"

"Some of his ideals. He was eager to share them and I told him that they were unrealistic. They were, we don't have enough money in the budget for such things. But then he got angry, he argued with me about it and stormed out. I called him the next day and let him know that he wouldn't be hired. I mean, I understand being passionate about something, but..."

"What else do you know about him?"

"From what I heard, he tried to apply elsewhere and got turned down, like you said. There have been a few protests that have sprouted up the last few months. Really small things, they barely even appeared in the papers. Most of them were more like disturbances than actual protests. There were a couple of them that were actually reported, though, I saw his name a few times."

"What message did he try to send?"

"He was just spreading his ideals. He emphasized that the ski patrol wasn't doing enough, that we wouldn't be prepared if there was an avalanche. He stressed that people would die if one happened, that there were things that we could do, but that we neglected to do. I didn't think he would do this, though."

"Thank you," Hotch said, "Do you think I can get a copy of this file?"

"You can keep it, I don't need it anymore."

"Thanks," Hotch said, shaking Page's hand again, "For everything. You've been a great help!"

"Good luck in finding him," Page said as Hotch left his office.

* * *

"Bingo," Garcia yelled, pulling up data on her computer at lightning speeds. JJ put the mug down to the right of her, taking a sip from her own as she leaned over her shoulder.

"What've they got you working on," she asked.

"They set up a video feed a while back--"

"Video feed," JJ asked, wide-eyed, "It wasn't while I was asleep, was it? Did Hotch see me?"

"Damn these gabby lips," Garcia shouted, "Um, yes, it was. And he did. I'm sorry Jayje, they just sort of popped up and you were there. I would have told you, but Hotch told me not to because he doesn't want you to stress."

JJ sighed as she took a seat, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose hard. "Don't apologize, Garci, wasn't your fault... Oh God, he's gonna' be mad."

"Maybe not, since we are about to solve this case for him."

"Really?"

"Yup," Garcia said, reaching for her phone.

"Garcia," Hotch asked.

"Yeppers, this is the Queen of the Machines at your service," she quipped, "And boy, do I have something for you!"

"Logan Graves?"

Garcia gasped. "Are you psychic? That must be it, easy to profile when you can read minds!"

"No, Garcia," he answered with a chuckle, "Do you have an address?"

"7726 Rocky Meadow Drive. He blows up mountains for a living. I'm not joking, either, he works for a company that specializes in controlled avalanches. But I bet you know that, since you've got the whole mentalist vibe going."

"Actually, that is really helpful! Everything is coming together now. Thanks, Garcia, great work!"

"Thanks, but I swear if you don't get this guy for breaking my sweet, innocent Jayje, I will personally come out of this phone and strangle you!"

"We'll get him," Hotch said and hung up.

"Your sweet, innocent Jayje," JJ asked with a laugh.

Garcia turned and smiled, pinching JJ's cheeks. "Yes, my caffeine-addicted friend. Now sit there like a good little girl and drink your coffee."

JJ smirked, but did just that.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: Time to finally catch the bad guy (in the sloppiest, most piece of crap way ever). Anyway, thanks for the reviews! Trying to decide how to break up these last few chapters, but if I had to guess, I'd say only two or three more chapters at most (including this one). I may finally be finished with this fic by tomorrow (or today, considering that it is after midnight where I live), which would be good because I have to go back to school on Wednesday and I doubt there will be a ton of writing time. *DISCLAIMER* I do not own Criminal Minds and all mistakes are my own.**

Reid jumped into the SUV and Morgan started following the GPS' directions towards Rocky Meadow Drive.

"So we know who he is," the genius asked.

"Sounds like it," Morgan answered, "Hotch called me and told me that our suspect is a guy named Logan Graves. He told me to pick you up and make my way to the address that baby girl gave him."

"Do I get to come along and play this time?"

Morgan chuckled at the new-found eagerness that Reid had when it came to field work. "Maybe, kid, but we'll have to wait and see."

Fifteen minutes later, Morgan was parking the SUV in the street, inches away from Graves' front lawn. Hotch zoomed in from the other side of the road and screeched to a halt. All of the agents, who had put their Kevlar on before arriving, rushed out of the vehicles with guns drawn. Hotch started giving orders.

"Morgan, take Emily and cover the back. Dave, Reid, you two will come with me. Dave and I in front." Hotch started to move and the rest followed his cue. Reid cursed under his breath that he had to be in the back again, but it was better than nothing. Hotch and Rossi stepped on the porch without a sound. Hotch looked over to Rossi and started the count. 1... 2... 3... Hotch kicked open the door as Rossi and Reid slid over to the side, and all three agents moved into the house. Morgan kicked in the back door and entered with Prentiss on his heels. The five agents split up.

"Clear," came a shout from the kitchen.

"Clear," from the dining room, the bathroom, the living room... Hotch crept silently up the stairs to the second floor. He froze at the site of a shadow that slinked into a room and closed the door. He made his way up quicker, and stopped behind a wall, using it as a barrier between him and the door.

"Logan Graves," he shouted, "FBI. We've got your house surrounded, there is no way out."

"Step away," yelled the man behind the door.

"We can't do that, Logan, you know that as well as I do. We know what you did. But I know that you didn't mean to hurt anyone, Logan. The ski patrols... they wouldn't listen to your ideas. I want to talk to you, Logan, I want to hear about your ideas."

"If they didn't care, then why would the FBI?"

Morgan and Rossi stopped mid-way up the stairs, Prentiss and Reid stood at the base of the house.

"A friend of mine was in that avalanche, Logan. She survived, but she was hurt. If you think you can help prevent that from happening to someone else, I'd like to hear it. I just want to talk. Just come out with your hands in the air slowly."

There was a pause, followed by the door knob being twisted. The door edged open, inch by inch, and Graves came out with his hands up. Hotch moved in, slamming him against a near wall and cuffing him. He read Graves his rights as he walked him down the stairs, Rossi and Morgan moving up.

"What am I looking for," Rossi asked.

"Bomb-making material," Morgan said, "Anything that can be used for an explosive, scrap metal, anything. He's probably got it all in one room."

"Derek," Prentiss called from downstairs, "There was a shed out back, remember? It would be a perfect place for--"

Before she finished, Morgan flew down the stairs and out the back door. He approached the shed, which had a padlock on it.

"I need bolt cutters," he yelled back to Reid, who looked on from the doorway.

"I'll check the garage." A few moments later, he returned and handed a rusty old pair of bolt cutters to Morgan.

"Not great, but they'll do," he said, clamping the cutters against the shackle. His muscles flexed and with a grunt, the lock broke off. By this time, the other three agents were all right behind him. Morgan pulled back the shed door, pulled a cord for a light bulb inside, and found exactly what he was looking for. Pictures of avalanches, blue-prints with bomb designs, and materials were strewn all over two oak tables that lined the sides of the shed. There were also a few newspaper clippings, each focusing on an avalanche-related protest or accident.

"Bingo," Rossi said, going out to report to Hotch. Upon being informed, Hotch turned to the suspect in the back seat and delivered a cold glare.

"We found your stash, Graves," he said, malice dripping from his voice, "And I'm making it my personal mission to see to it that you spend the rest of your life in federal prison."

Graves, with a defeated look in his eyes, was silent as the agents drove to the FBI fieldhouse in Denver. They dropped off Graves, informed the AIC of all the evidence and where to find it, and took two agents with them to drive the SUV's back once they had reached the airport. It had been a long few days, but the vacation from hell was finally over, and perhaps Aaron Hotchner would find a little rest in the familiarity of the jet.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: I'm really in the writing mood tonight, so I think I'll just write the final two chapters and finally be done in with this fic! The disclaimer is the same as the last chapter.**

Prentiss was about to crack open a book on the jet when Morgan pulled out the deck.

"Game of poker," he asked, flashing one of his famous million-dollar smiles.

"Why certainly," she answered.

"Deal me in," Reid piped up from beside him.

"And have you cheat again," Morgan groaned, "Fat chance."

"Wha--"

"Just messin' with ya', kid," he said, dealing out the cards. On the other side of the jet, Hotch sat. The bags under his eyes hadn't faded, but he was content with just sifting through his thoughts right now. There would be plenty of time for sleep. Rossi approached, coming from the break room with a cup of coffee in his hand and taking a seat opposite him.

"You should probably get some sleep," the veteran profiler said before taking a sip. Hotch shrugged.

"Not tired."

"And I'm not buying that for a second," he scoffed, "Doesn't matter, I've got a story that I've been wanting to tell you."

"Really? That your way of putting me to sleep?"

"Yeah," Rossi said, chuckling, "A bedtime story for you."

"I'm all ears."

"Good. So I'm approached by this kid about eleven years ago. Jet black hair, these brown eyes that can stare laser beams through some and show nothing but compassion to others. This kid's probably around 30-years-old, give or take. He comes up to me, all professional, suit and tie, and here I am just wearing blue jeans and a sports jacket. And this kid comes up to me and tells me that he wants to join the BAU--"

"I know all this, Dave," Hotch interrupted, "I _was_ that kid."

"Who's tellin' the story here? Anyway, so this kid comes up and asks for a job. Now I was about a year or less away from retirement at the time, already working on my book, and the last thing I wanted was some student that I was going to have to watch over."

"So why did you hire me," Hotch asked, curious now.

"This isn't about you, Aaron, sheesh! _Anyway,_ I didn't want to hire him. I was perfectly good going solo. But there was something different about this kid. It was in his eyes. It was in how he presented himself. It was in how he spoke. He was serious and intelligent, but there were lots of guys like that. The reason I hired him was because of the fire. There was a fire blazing in his eyes, and I knew right then and there that this kid would be leading this team someday. I'm looking in your eyes right now and I still see the same fire that I saw eleven years ago."

"Is there a point to all of this, Dave?"

"Actually, there is. You've been trying to figure out why this team means so much to you. You've been trying to figure that out since I came back, probably even before that. You've lost two agents since you took over. I knew Jason, obviously, never got to meet Elle Greenaway. I know you hand-picked her, though, and I know that it is a sore spot with you. It would be just as sore if you lost any of us now. It is why you were so rough with Graves, he threatened JJ and that got under your skin. No matter how hard you try, though, you can't figure out why you are so protective of them, why you care about them so much."

"You work with people in a dangerous field long enough," Hotch said, "You become pretty close."

"Sure," Rossi nodded, "But not like your team. This is about as close to a family as I've ever seen, Aaron. Me, Jason, Max Ryan, we were never like this. I think it is more than that."

"How so?"

"I think you see a little of yourself in each one of your agents. It makes it hard on you to reprimand them and impossible for you to stay mad at them. It makes you care deeper about them than just about any other boss would. Each one of them possesses traits that you did eleven years ago when you knocked on my door and asked for that job. Traits that you still possess, though they are hidden sometimes because of your duties as Unit Chief."

"Name a few," Hotch challenged.

"Do I really need to? Fine. Morgan has that fire, that determination that I was referring to earlier. He's like a junkyard dog, and you respect that because you were the same way at his age. You don't wear your emotions on your sleeve like he does, but you've wizened up a bit with age. With Reid, you see the ability to fight through things. That will to never give up, to always pick yourself up when you are down. So no matter what he does, no matter how bad he screws up, you'll never fire him because you know that he'll bounce back better and stronger than ever. Prentiss is good with political correctness, but she absolutely hates politics. She's loyal and she won't throw her colleagues under the bus for any reason, and you absolutely love that about her. So you butt heads with her because you are both stubborn, but at the end of the day, you two have a respect for one another. And then, finally, there is JJ. JJ is to you what you were to me, Aaron. You are her mentor, and that's something that's pretty special to have. It goes deeper than that, though. You two are a lot more similar than either of you would like to admit. She's serious and professional like you are, though she'd hate to think that she is. You share the compassion for the victims that she does and the ability to feel things even though you won't let it show outwardly. There is a reason why she comes to you when she needs someone to lean on, Hotch. She trusts you, she understands you, and she admires you. There is more than just a respect there, Hotch, it is a mutual appreciation and admiration. That's why you were upset when you felt that she was upset. That's why you haven't been able to sleep since her injury. That's why you are still angry because she won't go home and rest. But you won't yell at her when you meet with her."

"Why do you say that?"

"Again, because you understand her. You wanted her to rest because you are concerned for her. Yet, at the same time, you know she is just like you. Classic workaholic, she isn't going to stop because of a broken wrist. My point, though, is that there is a reason for you to care deeply about all of them, and it is ok to admit that you do sometimes. Even ok to let them defy you sometimes, particularly when you would have done the same thing." Rossi yawned and stretched a little before continuing. "What happened to JJ wasn't your fault, she's going to be fine, and she would want you to get some rest."

Hotch paused a minute to let it soak in, studying the table as he did. When he looked up, Rossi had closed his eyes.

"Dave," he said, grabbing the profilers attention, "Thanks."

"No problem, kid," he said, "Now sleep."

"One question before I do..."

"Jesus, Aaron," Rossi said with a sigh, "You were always a curious one. Shoot!"

"How do I relate to Garcia?"

There was a pause before both men laughed, but Rossi did consider it.

"She helps us keep our heads up. Who wouldn't fall in love with that?"

"True," Hotch said before finally making himself comfortable in his chair and succumbing to slumber.


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Last chapter! This chapter is set the next morning as everyone is arriving. The disclaimers are the same.**

JJ feared what Hotch would say as she approached his office, but when Aaron Hotchner called you in for a meeting, you didn't refuse. She arrived at the door and knocked timidly.

"Come in."

She did so, closing the door behind her. She stopped a few feet away from his desk.

"Hotch," she said, "I'd just like to apologize for my behavior. I know that I've caused you a lot of problems over the past week or two, and I'm sincerely sorry for that. I know that manipulating Garcia to take me here was wrong, and I have no excuse for it. I ask that you don't hold her responsible for anything. It was all my idea."

"Take a seat," Hotch said, gesturing to a chair. JJ did as told. There was silence for a few moments before JJ looked pleadingly into Hotch's eyes.

"So, um, how much trouble am I in?"

"None," Hotch said, "I just called you in to check on you. How's the wrist?"

JJ used every ounce of energy she had to stop her jaw from dropping to the floor. Who was this guy and what did he do with Hotch?

"It's a little better," she said, "Seriously, though? I'm not in _any_ trouble?"

"Am I ever _not_ serious, JJ," Hotch asked, "That is, unless you _want_ to be punished."

"Oh, no," she said, "I mean, no sir... Thank you."

"I'm glad your wrist is feeling better," he said. He nodded, signaling that she could go.

"Thank you, sir," she said as she stood. She turned and headed to the door before Hotch came to his senses and changed his mind. Her hand froze to the handle as he spoke again.

"And JJ," he said, waiting for her to turn back.

"Yes?"

"Your door handle," he said, "I had the repair man come in this morning before you arrived. Should be good as new."

Her blue eyes twinkled as she gave her boss a smile.

"Thanks, Hotch! I'll be back in here in about half an hour with our new case if that's ok with you."

"Sounds good," Hotch said as the blonde left, closing the door behind her. He watched through the blinds as she walked down the stairs and through the bullpen. A relieved smile started to form as he realized that the wall between them had finally been torn down and they were friends once again.

Outside, the clouds that hazed the morning sky dissipated, revealing the beautiful day to come.

**AN: Obviously, I'd like to thank all of the people that took the time to read and/or review this thread! You are all amazing and I love all the support! Special thanks go to my friends zoni and doc! Without zoni, I would have never finished the San Jose case, she gave me vital information on Social Services and really the whole idea to have the Unsub work for Social Services. Doc gave me information about snow survival that definitely came in handy when writing about Hotch rescuing JJ! I'd also like to thank all of my friends on the CBS message boards that took the time to sift through all the randomness there before I started posting my fics on this website! I know that was a chore, but you guys did it anyway and I'm very grateful! So, with that, the Lost Files have come to a close! Hope everyone enjoyed them, and looking forward to writing future stories on here! Good night! **


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